Cate Baum | Self-Publishing Review

Keanu Reeves and Girlfriend: Indie-Publishing Since 2011

So for everyone under a rock for the past week, the top trending person on Twitter is beloved Hollywood actor Keanu Reeves. Because it has come to the world’s attention his girlfriend has gray hair, and she looks like Helen Mirren! (She’s over twenty-five years younger, but let the plebs have their say.) And drumroll, she’s only nine years younger than him! (see Jeff Goldblum, Dennis Quaid, Leonardo DiCaprio, or Sean Penn to see how, ahem, unusual this “small” age gap actually is in Hollywood.)

However, speculation about this “new” relationship pretty much dissolved when web-ferrets savvy and bored enough […]

Cate Baum2019-11-11T05:25:36+02:00November 9th, 2019|Categories: Features, News|

Review: A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph E. Fleckenstein

A Family Affair and Other Stories by Joseph Fleckenstein is an engaging collection of fictional and non-fictional stories that span the globe.

Many of these stories have been previously published in literary journals, which speaks to the quality of the writing throughout, which includes those that have not been published before. Written in bite-sized portions, with some stories only two pages long, this is a collection that you can breeze through quickly, in part because of the eclectic variety of Fleckenstein’s storytelling. The stories travel to Egypt, India, Germany, and more, acting as a kind of travel diary, as well […]

Cate Baum2019-09-16T08:54:26+02:00August 13th, 2019|Categories: Book Reviews|Tags: Literary Fiction Book Reviews, Short Stories Book Reviews|

Ten Steps to Format Your eBook

When it comes to uploading your eBook for KDP or even for selling it yourself from your author website, it seems like a really fiddly job. But there are ten easy steps to getting it right.

This is a very basic 101, and there are many other fancy things you can do. But these are the bare minimums you should aspire to.

You can click the images if you wish to see them bigger.

1. Use Word

1. There’s no point in using a PDF because it’s counter-intuitive to Kindle. Amazon’s system will automatically recognize chapter headings and paragraphs if […]

Cate Baum2020-02-21T03:45:36+02:00July 10th, 2019|Categories: Features, Resources|Tags: Book Formatting Tips|

How To Get An Agent As An Indie Author

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Cate Baum2019-06-20T06:43:56+02:00June 13th, 2019|Categories: Features|

Ten Reasons Your Book Is Not Ready To Publish

You’ve had the line edit and worked on the notes your editor gave you. You’ve had the manuscript proofread. Then why is the biggest issue with self-published books is that they get published too early in the process? Editor Cate Baum gives you ten reasons why your book may not be as ready as you think it is.

Lately, I have been editing books for authors who have already paid for edits, some with reputable editors. I have seen a sharp rise in remedial edit work coming my way. The issue is that their edits just were not aggressive enough, […]

Cate Baum2019-05-14T10:48:51+02:00May 14th, 2019|Categories: Features|Tags: Book Editing Tips|

Announcing the Winners of the 2018 SPR Book Awards!

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Cate Baum2019-04-15T16:25:52+02:00April 10th, 2019|Categories: Features|Tags: SPR Book Awards|

Self-Published Vs. Trad Publishing? It’s not a choice, stop saying it is.

There seems to be a tide of “Trad Publishing Vs. Self-Publishing” posts out there at the moment. As if it’s a choice. I’ve taken a real umbrage to this. Because honestly, it’s not. Here’s why.

Traditional publishing – The Process

To get your book published by a so-called Big-Five publisher, i.e., Hachette, HarperCollins, Macmillan, Penguin Random House, Simon & Schuster, or one of their imprints — or honestly, any niche trad publisher, you’re going to need to go through a long and painful process. Here it is:

1. Get an agent. Various ways of getting an agent involve first, […]

Cate Baum2025-05-12T17:51:20+02:00March 2nd, 2019|Categories: Features|Tags: Publishing Tips and Advice|

Self-Publishing Review’s Author Manifesto for 2019

We asked authors what they want this year. It’s a really simple list: Personal customer service, something to help set up on Amazon, flexible pricing, tons of shares on social media, to sell books, Amazon Customer Reviews, free advice, leave disinformation behind, and have the freedom to publish without shame. How will we deliver this in 2019?

Personal customer service

To be a service provider to single-person businesses, i.e. authors, is a specialist concern in any industry. Dealing with highly fragile confidence and high impact delivery – i.e. big fail or big win – should be the overreaching priority. One […]

Cate Baum2019-02-22T07:52:48+02:00February 22nd, 2019|Categories: Features|